How it Works

Going back to basics means exactly that, basic. Simplify. Mike is the provider and I am the homemaker. This reality does not come easily for me. But, I feel called to this roll. Therefore, in order to make this work, we had to go over all aspects of our finances and prioritize:

Fixed:

#1 God's money: 10 percent goes back to God's kingdom before anything else. Period. Whether we make $100 or $1000 a week . . . 10 percent back.
#2 Gas: We have to buy gas in order to get to work and to get the supplies we need. This is mandatory for Mike but not for me if I am to stay home with our children. If I quit my job, that would save us roughly $100 a month.
#3 Housing/Mortgage

Variable:

All items under this can be manipulated. Here is where we could make our cuts. One major expense is food.  Raw milk and organic foods are more expensive and this doesn't help with the food bill UNLESS I was able to cook from scratch.

First essential food item is milk. Our local raw milk is $6 a gallon and needs to be picked up on Tuesdays right down the street. This ends up being $48 a month.

 Next essential item is eggs. There is NOTHING better than fresh free range eggs. We have about 10 chickens at the moment who provide us with all our eggs.

Our meat is purchased from our local, family owned Vogal Farms. I order our meat and pick it up on Tuesday mornings along with our milk.

Homemade bread is delicious and very inexpensive to make! This was my first attempt ( ;

Easy Homemade Bread:

2 packages yeast
2 cups water
10 teas sugar
1/2 cup milk
3 Tbsp butter
2 teas salt
6-7 cups flour

Bake @ 400 degrees for 30 minutes. Makes 2 loaves

Meet Bacon and Sausage. We bought these little piglets when they were 2 months old. We feed them basic growing feed and all of our leftover food daily.

The idea: Nothing goes to waste. Eventually, we plan to build a greenhouse to have fresh vegetables year around.

Not working means limited driving. Limited driving leads to a huge gas savings and more time at home with my family. I enjoy the simplicity of my days now that I have the time to invest in my children.



We are becoming more organized and are now able to get most of our schooling done by lunchtime each day and then have the rest of the afternoon to bake, do chores and ride horses. I am noticing the changes in my children. We pray together, read together and now play together.